Despite the judge acknowledging AECOM's liability for certain defects, a 12-year limitation period played a crucial role in the decision.

In a significant legal development, the High Court has rejected Lendlease's £3 million lawsuit against AECOM, revolving around fire safety defects at a cancer centre in Yorkshire. The case focused on a 13-storey oncology wing for St James's University Hospital in Leeds, constructed by Lendlease and completed in December 2007 under the government's private finance initiative (PFI).

Justice Stephen Eyre dismissed Lendlease's claim, stating that the consultancy would have been held liable for eight defects if the legal action had been initiated about nine months earlier. However, the critical factor in the dismissal was the expiration of the 12-year liability period. The dispute primarily centred on the lack of fire compartmentation and other defects within a plant room of the oncology wing.

Lendlease, having been previously ordered to pay nearly £8 million for 25 defects in a separate court battle that concluded in 2022, sought to hold AECOM accountable for 18 of these defects. Judge Eyre found that Lendlease failed to establish AECOM's responsibility for 10 of the defects. Nevertheless, he noted that AECOM would have been liable for damages exceeding £550,000 due to its shortcomings, had the case not been statute-barred.

Lendlease, appointed to the project in 2004 under a design and build contract, enlisted AECOM for mechanical and electrical consultancy services on the 67,000 square metre, 300-bed unit. The issues regarding fire safety came to light in 2018 when St James's Oncology SPC, overseeing the project, was advised of necessary remedial works in one of the plant rooms.

ENGIE Building, responsible for maintenance over the 30-year PFI deal, was later contracted in 2022 to implement fire-resistance measures. Following a legal battle, Lendlease was found liable for defects and ordered to pay over £5 million, plus costs, to St James's Oncology SPC.

Lendlease's subsequent claim against AECOM, alleging that £3 million of the sum paid was the consultant's liability, faced a limitation period challenge. The judge concluded that the agreement between Lendlease and AECOM established a 12-year limitation period, and since the case was initiated in May 2019, any breach by AECOM would have had to occur after May 2007.

While the judge acknowledged that the defects fell outside the limitation period, he highlighted AECOM's awareness of the lack of compartmentation and its role in causing omissions during the installation process. Defects for which AECOM would have been found liable included the construction of the plant room as a single fire compartment, inadequate plant-replacement strategy, poor fire-stopping capabilities of ductwork, inadequate earthing, missing fire dampers, and the absence of break tanks for laboratory hot-water systems.

This ruling marks a significant legal outcome in the realm of fire safety, emphasising the importance of timing and contractual agreements in determining liability in construction-related disputes.

View the SOURCE here.

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